August 2018

Never a Day Without a Book... (On My Kindle!)

Jonathan Tropper: This Is Where I Leave You: A NovelThis book runs the gamut of emotions as Judd's family honors his dad's wishes and sits shiva for 7 days after he has died. The family dynamics and the fact that Judd had just caught his wife in bed with his boss (wow, was THAT ever a description!) adds to all the crazy angst. This is a very funny book, but it's also bittersweet, poignant, and at many times...crazy! Very well-written. (****)

Dean Koontz: Odd Apocalypse: An Odd Thomas NovelI am always delighted beyond measure whenever Dean Koontz releases an "Odd Thomas" book. I adore this humble and gifted character who is constantly put through hell and back. In this story, he is supposedly resting at a rich man's manor (after his previous harrowing undertaking) -- but the manor turns out to not be quite as "restful" as it appears. Hmm. (He is "Odd" because the typewriter key for "T" didn't hit the ribbon on his birth certificate. Get it?) Heh. Love him! (*****)

Michael Connelly: The Black Box (A Harry Bosch Novel)The refreshingly anti-establishment Harry Bosch of the LAPD's "Opened Unsolved Unit" investigates a 20-year-old murder that took place during the LA riots. Turns out not all is at it seems! Definitely a page-turner who-dunnit. (****)

John Scalzi: Redshirts: A Novel with Three CodasI believe I've read all of Scalzi's novels (not all of his novellas, though, but that's gonna change soon). Check out his blog at Whatever.com. I really like him -- he's bright and funny and down-to-earth. This book was kind of a campy take on Star Trek -- the guys in the "red shirts" typically didn't have much time to live. (If you know ST, you'll know what I mean). It was a very fun and entertaining read! (****)

Gillian Flynn: Gone Girl: A NovelThis story smacks you upside the head, swallows you, and spits you out; when it ends, you know you've been PUT THROUGH IT. It's a psychological thriller like none other. Can't say much more without giving away spoilers, but it's not 5 stars because of one particular element, in my opinion. (****)

Justin Cronin: The Twelve (Book Two of The Passage Trilogy): A NovelI read Cronin's "The Passage" a couple of years ago and loved it. I didn't realize that it was Part 1 of a trilogy! "The Twelve" is the 2nd part and it was outstanding. The premise sounds strange -- it's a post-apocalyptic world after a military experiment went terribly wrong. It's kind of a combination of "The Hunger Games" and "The Stand" -- but also neither of those. It's just riveting. And now I have to wait a couple more years for Part 3. (*****)

Stephen King: 11/22/63: A NovelThis was sooooo gooooood! Oh yes, it has some of King's typical elements (I mean, it involves time travel), but it's all believable. Really! Jake is a high school English teacher in a small town in Maine, and he's unexpectedly introduced to this "portal" that takes him back to 1958. Believe me, you go with him and you are THERE. Once again, I just love SK's glorious characterization. (*****)

Amor Towles: Rules of Civility: A NovelI believe this is a popular Book Club read, and I did enjoy it, but it wasn't a page-turner. It takes place in pre-World War II New York City from the point of view of a young woman making her way in the world with a "regular" life that unexpectedly intersects with the lives of a group of young and wealthy friends. Much of it was fascinating and intriguing, but it meandered. It was rather "noir" and I suspect NYC natives would genuinely love it -- like viewing intimate and iconic city elements through a lens of time. (***)

Robert Crais: SuspectEnjoyable police procedural read with all new characters -- and the best one is Maggie the Afghanistan war vet. She's a dog with PTSD who is matched up with a cop (also with PTSD after a terribly gone-wrong incident) for K-9 training. And ultimately the investigation of the terribly gone-wrong incident. The humans aren't painted quite as sublimely as Maggie the dog, but a good, escapist read anyway. (****)

Kate Morton: The House at Riverton: A NovelOnce Season 3 of Downton Abbey ended (so sadly!), I was still hungry for more (in spite of it all!) and so I read this book! Same era, same "upstairs/downstairs" setup, with different characters, of course. The narrator was a 99-year-old woman who had been a maid at Riverton House back in the 19-teens into the early '20s. She had lots of secrets to tell! It was entertaining, compelling, and left me realizing that the era was ultimately tragic, no matter how much money you had. (****)

John Scalzi: Zoe's TaleAfter the Old Man's War trilogy, this book was released and I thought maybe Scalzi had decided to write a 4th installment to the series (since Zoe was a pretty major-but-secondary character in two of them). Turns out this is actually the same story of the third book (The Lost Colony) only from Zoe's point of view (she's 15 or 16). At first I was disappointed, but once I got into it, I just loved it. She's a smart mouth (plus very smart!), and it was a very fresh take on a very good story. It's sci-fi, just a heads up, and very readable, humorous, and entertaining sci-fi at that. I also think it would be a great stand-alone book for teenage girls/young adults. (****)

Patricia Cornwell: The Scarpetta FactorBecause I've been disappointed in the Scarpetta books lately, this is the first one I've read in a while, which meant there were holes in my understanding of the backstory throughout it. I got the gist OK, but overall I found it to be whiney and full of angst. Or at least the characters are, and I mean ALL of them. They just take themselves way too seriously and I'm weary of that. Cornwell needs to lighten up and inject a little humor in her writing. (**)

Bill Loehfelm: Fresh KillsThis felt similar to another book I read fairly recently, Charlie Huston's "Caught Stealing." Angry protaganist, heavy drinker, pissed off at the world. It's not a mystery novel by any means — more of a psychological journey of self-discovery (and maybe redemption) that takes place over just a couple of days. I really didn't like this guy. And some of the good stuff that ended up coming his way seemed undeserved. (***)

Stieg Larsson: The Girl Who Played with FireI have very much enjoyed this series with Lisbeth Salander as the tough-as-nails, tattooed, pierced computer hacker with a horrific childhood. She has a chip on her shoulder, but her savvy and survival skills, as well as a certain vulnerability, have you always rooting for her. This is the 2nd book of the trilogy and you become more privy to much of what she had to endure in her youth. It's a great mystery, full of lots of tense moments, and quite the cliffhanger of an ending. The 3rd book will be released next year and I can hardly wait. (*****)

Dan Brown: The Lost SymbolI know. His writing sucks. (Much like Clive Cussler). But he can spin a yarn and it made me think of a computer adventure game. I did enjoy Googling certain art and architecture along the way. Over-the-top, for sure, but still rather compelling. (***)

Dean Koontz: Relentless: A NovelI love Dean Koontz and will read anything he writes. And because he's so prolific, there will sometimes be books of his that don't quite compare to others. This is one of them. It was good, it was entertaining (and it WAS relentless!), but it wasn't super. I've read a few more novels since reading this one and I had to go back to Amazon to refresh my memory what it was all about! So you see, it didn't stick with me like so many of his stories. That doesn't bode well. But...if you like Koontz, it's still worth reading. (***)

John Scalzi: Old Man's WarThis was the first book of a science fiction trilogy (I read them all; #2 is "The Ghost Brigades" and #3 is "The Last Colony"). John Scalzi twitters and I was intrigued with him on a personal level so I decided to give his books a try. They're good! I'm often hesitant about SF because so much of it is cheesy, but these are well-written, very interesting, and full of great humor. There is now a 4th book in the series called "Zoe's Tale" which I've downloaded to my Kindle but haven't read yet. (****)

Pat Conroy: South of BroadNo, it wasn't "Prince of Tides." Definitely worth reading, though, with Conroy's astounding and beautiful command of the language. As I usually do with his books, I have to read some of his passages out loud to whomever is within earshot. Some of the characters were a little over-the-top, but you love them anyway (or not...) (****)

Lee Child: Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, No. 13)I was rather disappointed with Jack Reacher No. 12, but this is totally back to excellent form! I'm not sure why I'm so enamored with this violent modern-day gunslinger, but there's something about him! The bad guys are (as usual) hair-raising bad, and so whatever comes to them is well-deserved. I think I'll read the Dexter series next! (****)

Saturday, July 07, 2018

Retreat

I’ve spent the major part of the past couple of weeks cocooned, mostly reading book after book after book. I’ve been healing from my tear duct procedure, and ultimately it is healing well, but I’ve had some (ahem) unpleasant side-effects from the medications, and possibly from the anesthesia. Let’s just say that it has been digestive-tract related and leave it at that. (Also: Ugh). I’ll head in this Monday for my post-op check and I anticipate it’ll be a short visit after a long drive.

But these past couple of weeks have profoundly shaken me in terms of this horrific *president and his despicable administration regime. The children locked in cages, separated from their parents, with no plans for reunification, is bottom-feeder cruelty. It’s a steel-toed boot punch to the gut. It is vivid to me how it would feel, having your child ripped away from you, or being the child ripped away from Mom and Dad, and my rage is off the charts. I don’t believe that trump, or his supporters, or the so-called party that enables him have the brain cells or the heart cells or the human cells to feel anything but their unsuppressed racism and hatred of “others.” To them, the brown-skinned people and their children desperate to escape the violent horrors of their homelands are not human. The *president himself calls them “infestations.” And in the meantime, undocumented (“illegal!”) Russian women are allowed into the country to birth their babies to establish citizenship, called Birth Tourism. Yes, that’s really a thing. No, it’s not fake news. “Anchor babies” anyone?

And now this monster gets to select another Supreme Court justice, as approved by the radical right-wing Federalist Society. You’ll see the ultimate nominee obfuscate and decline to answer pointed questions during confirmation hearings, but they are on the list because they believe immigrants are animals; because they believe that Brown vs. Board of Education was a mistake; because they believe brown/black-skinned people should not have the right to vote; because they believe that women should not have reproductive rights; because they believe that there should not be affordable health care for all; because they believe that gay people should not be allowed to marry or serve in the military.

I hate trump with every fiber of my being.

Our 4th of July was weird, although it did end on a high note. It fell on a Wednesday, which is weird enough. No plans this year (which was fine), but then our power went out around noon and didn’t come back on again until 7pm. Apparently a vehicle hit a power pole on the mainland side of the bridge and knocked it into the wires; the entire island and surrounding areas were out of power that whole time. It had to have ruined many family get-togethers! Our whole-house generator once again came to the rescue, and everything was up and running OK, except we had no internet. (Then, duh!, I remembered my iPhone “hotspot” feature and plugged it into my laptop and voilà! S-l-o-w, though). It was also a super-cloudy but humid/warm day. It got up to 80° but looking out the window you would have sworn it was only 42°. It was ugly and oppressive. Much like the political climate.

But then our neighbors (who had a bunch of folks over—not sure how they managed the power outage because I never heard their generator—put on one hell of a fireworks show! It was amazing to watch from our deck! Spectacular!! Right up there with a professional show.

We’re gearing up to prepare for a big family/cousins shindig at our house a week from today! (Gonna be a busy week!) Lots of cleaning to do, that’s for sure. A few food stuffs to make (but I’ve already made lasagnas and they are currently freezing). Nate, Sandra, and QUINN arrive Friday! I’ve also stocked up on some new toys for the little guy. He’ll be 10 months old this month! Blows my mind.

One of my REQUIREMENTS for this summer was to get the pathway to the beach much easier to navigate. That meant utilizing the gully as part of the path, which makes so much sense because it ends right at the beach! But, it was clogged with scotch broom and stickery vines, and a big charred chunk of a long-ago burnt out stump, and also kayaks. So I ventured down to pull scotch broom, at least the ones that weren’t 2-inch stalks. THOSE are impossible to pull; they required loppers, which John eventually came down and attacked. I couldn’t believe how much of that godawful scotch broom had taken over; it was overwhelming. I pulled a LOT, along with a ton of other bushy weeds, then cleared off the log steps to the beach itself. They were also clogged with weeds and grasses and madrona suckers and even BABY FIR TREES!! John disposed of the charred stump and moved the kayaks up beneath the house. The path is now clear! It’s slopey (but not terrible), and requires grippy-soled shoes to get to the gully, but it’s no longer obstructed and frightening. Eventually John said he would install a few gentle steps (railroad ties?) down to the gully, but that won’t happen in time for company. The biggest challenge now is that it’s Madrona leaf-falling season—it seriously looks like October out there! Everything is carpeted with those leaves, and they are slick to walk on. But it’s a relief, and even joyful, to peer down from the deck and actually SEE the gully!

Comments

Retreat

I’ve spent the major part of the past couple of weeks cocooned, mostly reading book after book after book. I’ve been healing from my tear duct procedure, and ultimately it is healing well, but I’ve had some (ahem) unpleasant side-effects from the medications, and possibly from the anesthesia. Let’s just say that it has been digestive-tract related and leave it at that. (Also: Ugh). I’ll head in this Monday for my post-op check and I anticipate it’ll be a short visit after a long drive.

But these past couple of weeks have profoundly shaken me in terms of this horrific *president and his despicable administration regime. The children locked in cages, separated from their parents, with no plans for reunification, is bottom-feeder cruelty. It’s a steel-toed boot punch to the gut. It is vivid to me how it would feel, having your child ripped away from you, or being the child ripped away from Mom and Dad, and my rage is off the charts. I don’t believe that trump, or his supporters, or the so-called party that enables him have the brain cells or the heart cells or the human cells to feel anything but their unsuppressed racism and hatred of “others.” To them, the brown-skinned people and their children desperate to escape the violent horrors of their homelands are not human. The *president himself calls them “infestations.” And in the meantime, undocumented (“illegal!”) Russian women are allowed into the country to birth their babies to establish citizenship, called Birth Tourism. Yes, that’s really a thing. No, it’s not fake news. “Anchor babies” anyone?

And now this monster gets to select another Supreme Court justice, as approved by the radical right-wing Federalist Society. You’ll see the ultimate nominee obfuscate and decline to answer pointed questions during confirmation hearings, but they are on the list because they believe immigrants are animals; because they believe that Brown vs. Board of Education was a mistake; because they believe brown/black-skinned people should not have the right to vote; because they believe that women should not have reproductive rights; because they believe that there should not be affordable health care for all; because they believe that gay people should not be allowed to marry or serve in the military.

I hate trump with every fiber of my being.

Our 4th of July was weird, although it did end on a high note. It fell on a Wednesday, which is weird enough. No plans this year (which was fine), but then our power went out around noon and didn’t come back on again until 7pm. Apparently a vehicle hit a power pole on the mainland side of the bridge and knocked it into the wires; the entire island and surrounding areas were out of power that whole time. It had to have ruined many family get-togethers! Our whole-house generator once again came to the rescue, and everything was up and running OK, except we had no internet. (Then, duh!, I remembered my iPhone “hotspot” feature and plugged it into my laptop and voilà! S-l-o-w, though). It was also a super-cloudy but humid/warm day. It got up to 80° but looking out the window you would have sworn it was only 42°. It was ugly and oppressive. Much like the political climate.

But then our neighbors (who had a bunch of folks over—not sure how they managed the power outage because I never heard their generator—put on one hell of a fireworks show! It was amazing to watch from our deck! Spectacular!! Right up there with a professional show.

We’re gearing up to prepare for a big family/cousins shindig at our house a week from today! (Gonna be a busy week!) Lots of cleaning to do, that’s for sure. A few food stuffs to make (but I’ve already made lasagnas and they are currently freezing). Nate, Sandra, and QUINN arrive Friday! I’ve also stocked up on some new toys for the little guy. He’ll be 10 months old this month! Blows my mind.

One of my REQUIREMENTS for this summer was to get the pathway to the beach much easier to navigate. That meant utilizing the gully as part of the path, which makes so much sense because it ends right at the beach! But, it was clogged with scotch broom and stickery vines, and a big charred chunk of a long-ago burnt out stump, and also kayaks. So I ventured down to pull scotch broom, at least the ones that weren’t 2-inch stalks. THOSE are impossible to pull; they required loppers, which John eventually came down and attacked. I couldn’t believe how much of that godawful scotch broom had taken over; it was overwhelming. I pulled a LOT, along with a ton of other bushy weeds, then cleared off the log steps to the beach itself. They were also clogged with weeds and grasses and madrona suckers and even BABY FIR TREES!! John disposed of the charred stump and moved the kayaks up beneath the house. The path is now clear! It’s slopey (but not terrible), and requires grippy-soled shoes to get to the gully, but it’s no longer obstructed and frightening. Eventually John said he would install a few gentle steps (railroad ties?) down to the gully, but that won’t happen in time for company. The biggest challenge now is that it’s Madrona leaf-falling season—it seriously looks like October out there! Everything is carpeted with those leaves, and they are slick to walk on. But it’s a relief, and even joyful, to peer down from the deck and actually SEE the gully!